


to dust, to shadow

by StreakingHerculobus



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25119178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StreakingHerculobus/pseuds/StreakingHerculobus
Summary: Kakashi faces his toughest mission. The whole world is counting on him, but more than that, the Yondaime's soul. Anything to prevent the next shinobi war, the son of the White Fang vows.
Kudos: 10





	to dust, to shadow

Namikaze Minato paced in his office high in the tower, overlooking the village and the forest beyond. In the same direction lay Amegakure, the pocket on which he placed his last chip. The bets were off. The peace of the shinobi world relied on the three teams he sanctioned.

The cloak of the Yondaime, tailored especially to him, hung loosely from his shoulders. The fading sun in the background accentuated his missing appendage. Currents of phantom pain seemed to course to where his left arm should be, a symptom of the anxiety that now plagued him.

The treeline in the distance appeared on fire, as the orange orb slowly crossed the threshold, ushering in the evening. “Be careful.” _Kakashi._

* * *

暗殺戦術特殊部隊SpecialAssassinationandTacticalSquad

0547,火の国LandofFire

MISSION:AS STATED BY THE COMMANDER

AREA OF OPERATIONS:雨隠れの里VillageHiddenByRain

WEATHER:USUAL

TERRAIN:USUAL

MEMBERS:1-MIKI2-AKI,1-OBITO2-GUY,1-TOAD2-EYE

RANK:OMITTED

* * *

Amegakure towered above them, impressive concrete structures, to match the creative ambition of the people that lived there. Infiltrating a village led by Hanzo is not a routine task. The ANBU had refitted a technique from the Uzumaki clan to serve their more secretive designs. It was able to seal up to 95% of a person’s chakra, but at a cost to the physical body.

“Let me check your stomach.” Koharu, his current captain and unofficial mentor, grimaced as she leaned over and traced the ink with her eyes. “Looks good.”

“You always get it on your first try.” Kakashi threw his shirt back down and proceeded to sharpen his kunai. A kunai he was going to have to leave behind.

She smiled. “Nobody else knows about all the compliments you dish out.”

Kakashi reddened and his attention fell to her own marks. The ink tracked an intricate pattern, emerging from their sleeves and encircling each wrist. From their stomach it rose past their chest, along their neck and disappeared at the corner of their mouth. The jutsu could be cancelled by just mouthing the trigger word.

“Are you ready?” she whispered conspiratorially, adjusting herself to face him where they made camp right outside the walls. They were not recognizable as their usual selves, the sealing jutsu also integrating a permanent henge. Dressed in rags they appeared as the orphan children their mission recommended.

Kakashi nodded, butterflies starting to stir. This would be his first S-rank, and he did not intend to die or fail here. Not when his sensei was counting on him. He performed the necessary hand signs and the ink on his body faded from view.

“Alright. Let’s get moving. We haven’t eaten in three days. Let it show.” She carefully climbed to her feet. “It already feels like my body weighs a ton.”

Kakashi agreed. “It’s the rain. They were those masks for a reason.”

The captain lifted her eyes to the sky covered with clouds. It had drizzled on them ever since they crossed the boundary. Luckily, when they arrived near the village, a short reprieve greeted them.

However, she could already sense a heavy storm on the way. “The Jōhōbu believes it’s one of Hanzo’s poisons. Don’t let it distract you. Otherwise, you’ll be the only exception.”

Kakashi tilted his head. “Exception to what?”

“Rain never killed anybody.”

* * *

SUBJECT: COMBAT OPERATIONS AFTER ACTION REPORT - SUMMARY UPROOTING THE CREEPING THISTLE

三代目火影SARUTOBI HIRUZEN, SUCCESSOR TO 二代目火影SENJU TOBIRAMA, SUCCESSOR TO 初代火影SENJU HASHIRAMA

1216,火の国LandofFire

NAME AND TYPE OF OPERATION:OPERATION UPROOTING THE CREEPING THISTLE, INTERIOR DISCIPLINE FORCE

DATES OF OPERATION: OMITTED

LOCATION: OMITTED

CONTROLLING STATION: NONE

REPORTING:四代目火影NAMIKAZE MINATO, SUCCESSOR TO 三代目火影SARUTOBI HIRUZEN, SUCCESSOR TO 二代目火影SENJU TOBIRAMA, SUCCESSOR TO 初代火影SENJU HASHIRAMA

SUPPORTING: NONE

INTELLIGENCE: SEE TESTIMONY A4 FILED 0867

MISSION: CONDUCT RECONNAISSANCE AND TAKE NECESSARY ACTION TO REHABILITATE UNFOCUSED FORCES

CONCEPT OF OPERATION: THE WILL OF FIRE THROUGH THE YEARS HAS BEEN A ENJOINING FACTOR FOR CLANS AND COMPANIES BELONGING TO 木ノ葉隠れの里KONOHAGAKURE NO SATO. DIRECTIVES AND FORCES ARE REGULARLY ISSUED TO MAINTAIN THE FABRIC OF THE VILLAGE’S UNITY.

NARRATIVE: 四代目火影NAMIKAZE MINATO, SUCCESSOR TO 三代目火影SARUTOBI HIRUZEN, SUCCESSOR TO 二代目火影SENJU TOBIRAMA, SUCCESSOR TO 初代火影SENJU HASHIRAMA, ENCOUNTERED SHIMURA DANZO. AFTER LIGHT DISCUSSION ILL-TRAINED ANBU MEMBERS ACCOSTED 四代目火影NAMIKAZE MINATO.

SHIMURA DANZO FLED THE COMMOTION. THE ANBU MEMBERS WERE QUICKLY DECOMMISSIONED. 四代目火影NAMIKAZE MINATO CAUGHT UP AND AGAIN DISCOVERED SHIMURA DANZO. 四代目火影NAMIKAZE MINATO REPELLED AN ATTACK AND A BATTLE BROKE OUT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, SHIMURA DANZO DIED FROM HIS WOUNDS.

RESULTS:THE SAME NIGHT FOUR ANBU RECONSTITUTED INTO THE FOLD. IN THE WEEKS THEREAFTER FORTY ADDITIONAL ANBU WERE RE-TRAINED AND ISSUED NEW POSITIONS. SIX ANBU LOST IN THE PROCESS, THE REASON BEING [OMITTED].

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES:OMITTED

SENIOR ANALYSIS:KONOHAGAKURE IS STRONGER WITH A COHERENT ASSASINATION AND TACTICAL SQUAD. 四代目火影NAMIKAZE MINATO TOOK THE NECESSARY STEPS TO BRING THE MILITARY’S GOALS BACK INTO ALIGNMENT WITH THAT OF THE COUNCIL AND THE PEOPLE. DUE TO THE INTERNAL NATURE OF THE OPERATION, THE EVENTS ARE TO BE CLASSIFIED AS AN S-RANK SECRET, PUNISHABLE BY DEATH IN THE EVENT OF WRONGFUL DISCLOSURE.

SIGNED,

三代目火影SARUTOBI HIRUZEN, SUCCESSOR TO 二代目火影SENJU TOBIRAMA, SUCCESSOR TO 初代火影SENJU HASHIRAMA

* * *

Obito might have been the leader of the mission, but Gai was a hard man to reign in. The taijutsu expert was not used to less than overt missions, and his boundless enthusiasm captured attention that the Uchiha would rather not deal with.

So they bypassed a couple communities where ordinarily Obito liked to stop and pick up bento for the trip.

Obito’s patience was beginning to run rather thin, having found someone that probably annoyed him more than he annoyed Kakashi. He wondered what the Hokage was thinking when Gai of all people was selected as his partner.

Supposedly, their mission was to go to Amegakure and deliver a scroll to their leader. The leader was not expressly named, which Obito found strange. Minato did not answer him either when he inquired why the scroll did not simply state ‘Hanzo’. There were a lot of fishy things with this mission, which surprisingly, Gai had mentioned to him in passing as soon as they departed the gates. 

“We’re almost there,” Gai rejoiced.

Obito sighed. That had to be the fastest he ever traveled the length of the fire country. It was Gai’s usual pace though.

“What should we do?” Gai asked, looking to him for guidance.

Obito stumbled with his words at first, having forgotten that as the leader, someone else looked to him for direction. This would be the first non-C-rank mission that he led. The Hokage mentioned that he was close to becoming a jonin as a fact.

“We walk up to the gate as non-threatening as possible.” Which Obito lamented was a guaranteed success given Gai’s uniform and boisterous smile. Maybe there was some merit to bringing Gai along.

* * *

“Miki,” Kakashi asked as soon as they found an isolated spot inside the village. “Why did they select Obito and Gai? They’re...well, not jonin. Don’t you think this is a little dangerous?”

“Worried about your friends?” she smirked. “Don’t be. They should be more worried for you.”

He shifted his face to the right, hating how she seemed to catch on to all his real motivations.

Koharu shook her head, able to tell when Kakashi was pouting. She decided to give in. “Hanzo, as the rumor goes, does not kill children. Even shinobi ones. But that’s just a rumor. I wouldn’t try to find out if I were you.”’

“So they serve as the official distraction, while we infiltrate the village, looking for weak spots.”

She slightly nodded. “In so many words. Specifically, we were also asked to even confirm Hanzo was alive. He hasn’t been seen in months. Either he’s dead or paranoid about being assassinated.”

“How do we do that?”

This was the beauty of their plan, Koharu smirked. “We don’t infiltrate the government. We infiltrate the resistance.”

Itachi looked out to the west, taking solace in the majesty of the setting sun. He felt very refreshed still, having traveled at a very mild pace. At least the mildest pace he ever conducted on a mission. But Kakashi, who usually travels at a rate most would consider endurance-building, was not the leader of this affair. Itachi chose the word affair for a reason as he listened to the surprised squeaks and splashes of water just beyond the tall fence at his back, where his current captain was enjoying the evening. At least the Hokage had given him a heads-up about what to expect.


End file.
